Just weeks after taking the Bar Exam, I met Patrick R. McMullen (1945 – 1999) when he was the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney at the home of Mount Vernon attorney Kenny R. St. Clair. Pat hired me as a Deputy PA starting in October 1976. Pat later served in the Washington State House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate. Most observers believe he would have been appointed U.S. Attorney for Western Washington had he lived a few more years. Pat was an excellent trial lawyer with a humble approach to jurors that confounded opposing lawyers.
Pat McMullen, Bobbie McMullen, and Bill Nielsen, on a beach, circa 1989. Pat and Bill were law school classmates at UW and then worked together when Bill became Pat’s first Chief Civil Deputy PA in the mid-1970s. Bill later went into private practice in Mount Vernon until he was appointed to the Western Washington Growth Management Hearing Board.
Pat and Bobbie were married while Pat was the Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney. Bobbie was a legal assistant for many years and was a steady source of support for Pat as he went into private practice and was elected to the House of Representatives and the Washington State Senate. This photo was taken in the rotunda of the Washington State Capitol when Pat was in either the House or the Senate.
